IvanKatz

TO all my SR Friends out there.
I wanted to throw a little something out there that really helped with my initial recovery.
When we first start the detox thing, we go a bit nuts because our brain is SCREAMING at us. I found a few web sites that really helped me through the first coupe of days. It's my own kind of therapy - you'll see what I mean!

Short Film | The Butterfly Circus

Best Online Videos | Wimp.com

Family Friendly Videos

For me, these sites have all kinds of videos from sad, to happy, to funny, to elation.
For me, these hundreds of videos kept my mind distracted *AND* also acted as a set of brain jumper cables. By going through so many emotions watching these videos, I believe it helped my brain re-organize itself and get it prepared for recovery. It will mentally exhaust you but that is a good thing when all your brain is doing is saying "feed me drugs"!
Enjoy!!!!!!!!

BTW, THe Butterfly Circus has a VERY POWERFUL message in it! I have watched it over and over again and it has made a mark on my recovery!

FT

Hi Ivan,

Thank you SO much for that list of links.

I totally agree with engaging your brain in something OTHER than thinking about how crappy withdrawal feels and fighting off the addict brain that wants you to pick back up and use again.

I especially loved the Butterfly Circus. The link was posted here awhile back, maybe you, can't recall. But yes, what a lovely message is inside that movie. Plus, it has good acting. Ha!

Everyone going through withdrawal. My biggest suggestion, besides the great things Ivan has been saying, is to EMBRACE detox, even the crappy crappy way it makes you feel.

That may come across as ridiculous and unfeeling, but it is true. Feeling like crap IS detox. For an otherwise healthy person, detox is just your body telling you the drug has left the building. Your body and brain know it quickly, and every cell in your body that has been napalmed by the drug will scream out at you to put more drug back in. And drugs and alcohol DO affect every cell in your body.

Recovery just takes time, but it is time well spent. Your body does heal. It does make new pleasure receptors. Put in good stuff like nutritious food and good exercise, and what you will get back out again is a functional system. We are designed to feel good, but not by artificial means.

We are also designed to wear out and die, but why rush things? Drugs and alcohol wear out our bodies at high speed. Good on everyone who is doing this detox and recovery thing. Show us how this is DONE. Post if you want, but definitely READ the posts that have the experience in them to guide you. We love hearing how you are doing as well.

FT

efftheox

Thank you... both of you are extremely helpful and encouraging. The reason I joined this site was a thread started by a lady, ill leave out her sn, but the conversations you had with this person over an 11 page thread failedtaper gave me the idea to join and post, and ivan your constant encouragement is going to help get me through. Im going to beat this bane of my current existence and help others like you guys are helping me.

IvanKatz

If it helps... I've been watching videos for the last hour. During that time, I've cried, laughed, smiled, felt great, felt sad.... all within an hour and a half...
For me, an emotional rollercoaster makes me feel better - if that makes any sense? I believe the strong emotions thing is the first baby step to healing the brain. After all, we have to retrain our mind to re-learn and re-experience life as it is meant to be.
Baby steps!

larrylive

I hardly know where to begin, how to express the feelings evocted by these videos.
As usual the timing could not have been better, helluva day, a week, a year.

It's not the promises made, but the promises kept that seem to make all the difference. And I shall try to make one the other. Faith, hope and love, these are the things that make me richer than my wildest dreams.

"It's not the position we hold in life that makes us great, but the obstacles overcome to get there"

Thanks,
Larry